Christie and McGreevey talk treatment at Hudson County jail

KEARNY — Standing in a semicircle with two dozen female inmates recovering from substance abuse, Gov. Chris Christie and former Gov. Jim McGreevey locked arms, closed their eyes and bowed their heads. Then just about everyone in the sixth-floor wing at the Hudson County Correctional Center recited the serenity prayer.

For the women who receive intense treatment at the jail’s Integrity House, it was a day to share stories celebrating their recovery.

"The pain of the past can’t outweigh the joy of the future," said one.

"I know better today, I hold myself accountable for being here," said another.

In response, Christie stressed his commitment to giving people second chances alongside McGreevey, a former governor who knows a little something about redemption.

In their first major public appearance together, Republican Christie, who is seeking re-election, and Democrat McGreevey, a spiritual counselor at the residential treatment program, sung each other’s praises and emphasized their belief in treating drug and alcohol addiction instead of warehousing offenders.

"It is really, really encouraging for me to see the light in your eyes," Christie told one woman. "I know in my heart that this is a disease, you don’t treat a disease by locking someone up."

"He believes in redemption and the integrity of every person," said McGreevey, who famously declared himself a "gay American" in 2004 and stepped down as governor.

Christie was elected five years later and says he reached out to McGreevey as a member of an "exclusive club" of people elected governor of New Jersey. "I have real respect for Jim as a person and he’s committing his life to trying to help others," Christie said, adding: "I wanted him back in the club."

Video: Gov. Chris Christie heaps praise on "extraordinarily helpful" Jim McGreeveyA visit by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to a jailhouse drug rehab program run by former Gov. Jim McGreevey was marked largely by tearful inmate testimony about the program and vows by Christie to create more such programs across the state. But a lighter moment occurred when a reporter asked the "new odd couple" about how the two men from opposite sides of the political can cooperate on certain issues, especially when Christie has harshly criticized McGreevey's record as governor. (Video by Brian Donohue/The Star-Ledger)

The current and former governor spent about an hour listening to women express gratitude for the treatment program and explain how it’s helping them turn their lives around.

"I had a spiritual awakening," said Teneshia Dunlap, 37, of Jersey City. "God allowed me to embrace who I was. Instead of going around or under I have to go through … I love myself today."

Dunlap and her fellow inmates were clad in dark green uniforms with the words "Hudson County Correctional Center" stenciled on the back. Spartan metal bunk beds were lined up at one end of long, narrow cinder block space where they spend nearly all their time. At the other end, there is a gated exercise yard.

McGreevey, who was nominated by Christie to sit on an opiate addiction task force, said 75 percent of people behind bars are addicts. Many of the women at Integrity House turned to drugs and alcohol to dull the pain of sexual abuse and domestic violence, he said.

"To be able to swim through all the sludge that was inside me, to be able to see the real me, it’s really a good feeling," one woman said.

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About 40 women currently participate in the federally funded Integrity House, which began three years ago. The corresponding men’s program is state-funded and 6 months old.

All counties have had drug courts — with dedicated teams of prosecutors, treatment providers, substance abuse counselors, probation officers and judges — for years, but under legislation the governor proposed last year, there are fewer reasons to deny someone treatment.

The new drug courts will be established in Hudson and Ocean counties and the region covering Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties by July 1, through a pilot program intended to admit more nonviolent offenders to mandatory treatment. Christie wants to bring all counties into the fold within four years.

McGreevey said the program works, citing a 25 percent recidivism rate — far lower than the national average of 66 percent. Calling the institutional wing "my church and my family," McGreevey said the tide of treatment versus incarceration is turning slowly.

"I believe Democrats and Republicans meet in a place like this and understand the importance of healing souls," he said.